Wow. After a very mediocre Xmas period to close out 2004, 2005 started out with a bang. I’m calling it the Disposable spike. A lot of people (me included) got the excellent skateboard graphics book Disposable for Xmas. After leafing through it, nostalgia hits you like a ton of bricks: you want to own those decks of your youth again damnit! Fuck the cost! This is the only explanation I can give for the Jan/Feb spike of prices on the bay!
Powell
Let’s start with this Powell Ray Barbee. Barbee was (is) a great street skater, but he’s not one of the Powell legends, let’s face it. So when this deck went for $560, well, you get the picture.
Actually, this Guerrero complete was a real bargain at $295. Even though it’s not his first graphic, it is highly sought after. Nice score.
Time was you could pick up a Hawk like this for $200 tops. Sure it’s a nice colorway, but it’s not really rare. This one went for $380.
It’s a similar story for this Lance Future Primitive. A couple of months ago this would have gone in the $300 range. This one went for $560. Lots more bidders out for this popular deck. Wonder if they knew you could get a repro now?
Aah, Per Welinder. The spiky headed Swedish superstar. He of headband and striped tube socks. You see his street model fairly often, but his freestyle model is pretty rare these days, especially in this sweet yellow paint. $449. Sweet, sweet deck.
Santa Cruz/SMA
I thought the revolting color scheme of this Corey O’Brien Reaper would dismiss it to also-ran status. Little did I know the power of the graphic. $305. Ugh.
Jason Jesse Neptune anyone? Original shark tail model? Jim Phillips graphics? I much prefer this to the 2nd version (mermaid tail), so I thought this one would go for far more than $300, even though it is used. I guess people want mint only!
The Jim Thiebaud "Joker". This isn’t even the rare model: that one featured the Joker from Batman and got SMA a cease and desist from the movie folks. This is the 2nd version of the graphic with a generic bad guy. It still fetched $404. Crazy.
The first John Lucero Cross Graphic. Early ones made by Santa Cruz. Not rare at all. $400? Fucking nuts.
I guess the reissue didn’t hurt the value of this Jeff Grosso Demon at all. The write up on the graphic in Disposable didn’t hurt either. The seller should send Sean Cliver half of the $1,136 that this deck sold for.
Vision
Actually, it’s the Gator and Gonz show. Let’s start with the Gators. Always one of the most popular graphics. Everybody had one themselves or knew somebody that had one. It’s a classic. Three beauties showed up this period. The first is my favorite but it fetched the least! It’s the first "pig" model with wheel wells in a nice dual colorway. $701.
This is the 2nd version of this graphic. Sharp in purple and yellow. Nice deck. $710.
Somebody tell me why this 2nd version went for $1,025 because I can’t figure it out. It’s the 2nd version in a crap color scheme. Actually, I think I know. It has front wheel wells, probably signifying a very limited early run of this shape. Also the nose doesn’t look as pointy.
Take your pick of these two Gonz "rookie" decks. Both are mint. The top one went for $565, probably because of the muted color scheme. It doesn’t scream 1980s unlike the second one in the classic white paint, neon pink, yellow and blue. This one went for a large $1,226 and is probably the centerpiece of somebody’s collection.
Ask and you shall receive: Dilligent and cryptically named reader SMccloskey says "The white one has front and back wheel wells – which tells that the deck was among the first ones made with that graphic. Later they did front wheelwells only, followed by no wheelwells. The white one was the first NOS with front and rear wheelwells to hit ebay." (Thanks! K.ed)
Alva/Dogtown/Bulldog
The biggest sellers of the period were Alvas, Dogtowns, and surprisingly enough, Bulldogs. Surprising because Bulldog is a company of today. Wes Humpston’s artwork is obviously the biggest reason, that and their very short production runs. Let’s start with the Bulldogs. This is the Southside Cross I believe. $909.
This next one is a real beauty. I love the color scheme. It went for $1,175 believe it or not.
Let’s move onto the old Dogtowns. From the 1987 we have this Malba. You hardly ever see this one up there, especially in a color scheme like this. $394.
From there lets go back to the late 70s, and this minty fresh Dogtown Red Dog, with the beautiful orange/pink gradient stain on the outside. It went for a big $3,716. But look at it! It’s undrilled fercrissakes! Effing beautiful. (Actually, this is a one-off handpainted deck – not a Red Dog. Thanks to contributing geek Sean Cliver for the correction. – K.ed)
As big as that one went for, this Bigfoot complete went for more. It’s awesome. Check out the Indy Stage 1s (I think) and the different colored wheels. Are those wooden rails on there too? Talk about slice of history. $4,419.
Here’s another sweet complete. Not as rare as the Big Foot obviously, but this Alva natural stain with Trackers and OJs is pristine. $885.
And here is an Alva leopard skin deck. It was reissued last year, but this original went for $1,125. Wood rails again.
Miscellaneous
How hot is Bam right now? Hot enough that his decks from a couple of years ago are going for a lot of money. This signed Bam HIM deck went for $660. Fucking unreal. Why him? (Cause he’s famous. Duh! K.ed)
Let’s go back to the late 70s. The Sims Brad Bowman "superman" model. A true classic that has been ripped off numerous times. You see models show up on ebay from time to time, but this is a beauty, $1,975.
And staying in the 70s we have this Sims Mike Folmer model. Hideous graphics, but you NEVER see this, especially in this shape. $1,000.
Moving ahead to the 80s we have this Zorlac Craig Johnson. This is the rare voodoo doll model, his first deck. Great condition. $566.
The famous Sims Lester "splat" graphic. It was on the market for about 3 years and probably sold hundreds of thousands. There are surprisingly few around. $565.
Randy, here’s one for you. The Brand X "weirdo". Yes you used to have one. Yes it went for $306. (No way dude! I had the pink one called… crap, I don’t have my copy of disposable with me. It was called the x-ray? Man, these boards were beautifully screened. They must have made up for labor costs by not sanding the edges, they were almost perectly flat.- k.ed)
Rodney Mullen is a true legend. His part in the new Almost video is absolutely superb. His decks are very popular amongst collectors. This early 90s deck of his went for $1,098. (He’s also really accells at lying about Chineese wood. – K.ed)
Of all of the decks Mike Vallely has put out through the years, you wouldn’t think that this would be the rarest. But I guess it is! The World Industries "barnyard". It went for $3,001. It is a classic though, and in perfect shape.
This H-Street Danny Way is very rare. I’ve never seen one on ebay before. Nice Dennis the Menace graphics, $623.
Let’s finish with a couple of Sims Christian Hosoi’s and an unbelievable Misfits 7". The Hosoi is the "Rising Sun" model. After Christian left Sims, they continued making it, just replacing the Hosoi name with the Sims name. Anyway, you seldom see this model as mint as this. It went for $2,408.
Then we have the same deck again. This one was being auctioned for Tsunami relief, and was in mint condition, and was signed by Christian to boot. However, the seller put an insane reserve on it. It was bid up to $3,700 but still didn’t sell. Ridiculous. The reserve should have been in the $2,500 range. Remember, signatures often kill the value for collectors. They want them mint and unmarked, just like you bought them at the skate store 20 years ago.
The Misfits are a longstanding and unfunny joke now. There isn’t an object that Jerry Only won’t slap a Misfits logo on and sell for $20. Twenty years ago it was very different though. They were a small, struggling, independent punk band that put their own singles out in very limited numbers. Here’s the 1st pressing of the Horror Business single on Plan 9 records. Supposedly there were only 10 made in this first pressing. It went for; grab your hat, $8,239. Insane huh? (Uh… Skateboarding tie in? – k.ed)
Later – Neil
